New world order: LIV looks to make its mark at Masters
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AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Phil Mickelson walked to the first tee — his LIV loyalties prominent on his cap, shirt and bag — he fist-bumped with a young girl hanging along the ropes before acknowledging the familiar cheers that have followed him throughout his career.
“Go Phil!”
“Go get ‘em, Lefty!”
“Attaboy!”
But after Mickelson launched his first shot of the Masters around lunchtime Thursday, a noticeably smaller group of patrons than previous years headed off with him.
Maybe it was because of his lowly place in the world rankings, No. 425, sandwiched between India’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu and Argentina’s Tano Goya.
Not much to see here.
Just another aging golfer whose best days are behind him.
But this is Phil Mickelson, the People’s Champion, long one of the game’s most popular players and perhaps its biggest draw outside of Tiger Woods.
Given the typically enormous crowd that Woods attracted to his group for the opening round, it’s probably fair to assume some of Lefty’s longtime fans have moved on since he aligned with LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed rebellion against the established PGA Tour.
Mickelson’s decision — even after acknowledging the human rights abuses of the Saudi regime — led to such negative fallout that he skipped the Masters a year ago.
But Mickelson has been followed to LIV by a number of well-known golfers, including major champions Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson.
With LIV now in its second season, Mickelson felt comfortable enough to return to Augusta, where the three-time winner has a lifetime exemption.
“It’s nice to be back out here,” he said.
Koepka fired the biggest salvo for the new tour with a 7-under-par 65 that left him tied for the lead with Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Spain’s Jon Rahm.
Imagine the fallout if Koepka takes a green jacket back to his new tour.
“There’s a lot going on,” said Koepka, who is regaining his form after recovering from surgery to repair a shattered kneecap. “I’m just trying to play the best I can play every time I tee it up.”
There were no signs of hostility toward 18 LIV players who qualified for the Masters, either from their competitors or the patrons, who know any unsavory displays likely would lead to a permanent loss of those treasured badges.
The LIV contingent dropped to 17 when Kevin Na withdrew after playing only nine holes. But everyone else from the upstart tour made it through the round, with four-time major champion Koepka leading the way.
“I missed quite a few putts,” he said. “I could have been really low, but I’ll take it.”
Koepka is not concerned about what might happen if the Masters makes it tougher for LIV players to qualify.
“If you win here,” he noted, ‘“you’re fine.”
Mickelson shot a solid 71 despite a double-bogey at No. 11. He really took advantage of the par 5s, posting birdies at all four of the supersized holes.
Four other LIV players broke par on a balmy spring day: Smith opened with a 70, while Johnson, Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann matched Mickelson at 71.
Then there was Bubba Watson. The two-time Masters winner struggled to a 77, the worst score among LIV players who finished.
Mickelson, whose game and image plummeted after he became the oldest player to win a major at the 2021 PGA Championship, was noticeably thinner than the last time he played Augusta National. The crowd certainly noticed the 25 pounds he’s lost.
“Slim and trim!” a fan shouted after a chip at No. 3.
The 52-year-old Mickelson quipped that he “stopped eating food, that was a big help.” But it’s clear he wants to give the fans more to remember him by than the last two years, and he hopes they’ll accept where he’s going with the new tour.
Mickelson’s cap, shirt and bag carried the funky logo of his LIV team, the “Hyflyers.”
“I needed something different,” he said. “I’m having a lot of fun having three teammates and having a different energy and a fun environment, and I want to play and compete at that level. And I’m going to figure it out.”